Author
Rottmann, Susan Beth, Zanjer, N., Yilmaz-Hava, Zeynep
Publication Date
2024-11
Publication Place
-
Taylor & Francis
Subject
Turkey, Refugees, Syrian women, Culinary strategies, Resilience, Sustainability, Urban precarity, Food insecurity
Type
Periodical
Language
English
Digital
Yes
Manuscript
No
Library
Özyeğin University
Library Asset ID
1552-8014
Record ID
bca42039-f02c-4b13-8b6f-ab23c2d0dd5c
Library Location
Humanities and Social Sciences
Date
2024-11
Notes
TÜBİTAK
Sample Text
In a context of urban precarity and food insecurity, our research examines how Syrian women in Istanbul (Turkey) (re-)create "Syrian cultural foods" as part of fulfilling gendered expectations for homemaking. Fleeing civil war since 2011, Syrians find safety in Turkey, but they struggle with a financially and politically insecure temporary protection status making the daily act of cooking a significant challenge. In contrast to research focused on sustainability primarily in terms of health and nutrition, we show the important role that culture plays in determining what food is considered sustaining. Specifically, we identify "culinary sustainability" strategies which are culturally embedded food practices that foster resilience for migrants in a new setting. Based on semi-structured interviews and participant observations in the kitchens of Syrian women in Istanbul, we identify three strategies: 1) Homemade food practices, 2) Adjustment, and 3) Recycling. Addressing a burgeoning literature that tries to integrate sustainability and resilience studies, we show how each strategy corresponds to a feature of cultural resilience (engaging forms of resistance, adaptation and innovation). Under severe socio-economic constraints, Syrian women use creative adaptations to innovate tasty new ways of showing culinary care in a new country and an unfamiliar megacity, Istanbul.
DOI
10.1080/15528014.2024.2429905
